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hey all, i find this all the time..

ill open a brand new pack of bicycle cards and within a few days the edges are dirty and it is impossible to fan the cards!!

any tips on keeping cards fanning and clean edges??

john

Wash your hands before you even go near the deck, they'll last much longer.

wash your hands before practise and use fanning powder.
perhaps your also being to rough on your cards.

magicdiscoman wrote:and use fanning powder

I've never used fanning powder, and I've heard mixed reviews.
Whats you thoughts, magicdiscoman, does it have a significant effect?

I'm not a cardie but i hear that it helps absorb moisture which has got to be good in the long run.
i supose you could use pure chalk powder for your hands and your cards.

On a similar note is Talcum powder similar to fanning powder as a cheap alternative?

I have "queens out of control" and founf the cards started sticking together so I put them in a bag with talc in and it sorted them right out! They also smell right nice now

Talc can be used but make sure it's unscented (Johnson's Baby Talc is fine) otherwise the cards will smell like the inside of a tart's handbag (so they tell me). French Chalk is also good and is probably the main ingredient of the professional stuff - try DIY stores and builders' merchants as they sell it for use with plumb bobs/chalk lines etc.

isnt fanning powder Zinc Stearate? no idea where you can get it but im pretty sure thats what it is?

Okay, but my follow up question was, is it worth using? I never have, am I missing a trick.

or. use it for practising cuts. i find older decks make them a lot easier.

and learn a pressure fan. sorted!

the_mog wrote:isnt fanning powder Zinc Stearate? no idea where you can get it but im pretty sure thats what it is?

Yeah, it's something along those lines.

Well... fanning powder isn't that expensive so I'd recommend it. It's perfect for fanning and obviously you need to learn to fan first but with the technique and powder, it should be great!

stevebo wrote:

the_mog wrote:isnt fanning powder Zinc Stearate? no idea where you can get it but im pretty sure thats what it is?

Yeah, it's something along those lines.

Well... fanning powder isn't that expensive so I'd recommend it. It's perfect for fanning and obviously you need to learn to fan first but with the technique and powder, it should be great!

Thanks Stevebo, just to clarify. Does fanning powder extend the lifetime of your deck or does it improve the quality of a fan or is it both? I'm still trying to work out what it will actually do for me.

pdjamez wrote:

stevebo wrote:

the_mog wrote:isnt fanning powder Zinc Stearate? no idea where you can get it but im pretty sure thats what it is?

Yeah, it's something along those lines.

Well... fanning powder isn't that expensive so I'd recommend it. It's perfect for fanning and obviously you need to learn to fan first but with the technique and powder, it should be great!

Thanks Stevebo, just to clarify. Does fanning powder extend the lifetime of your deck or does it improve the quality of a fan or is it both? I'm still trying to work out what it will actually do for me.

Depends on what you do. For (most) flourishes and fanning then fanning powder is the answer. For some magic tricks, fanning powder isn't the answer. As to whether it extends the life of the cards or not, I'm not too sure, but it sure feels like it for me. But I take extra care of my cards.

Thanks stevebo. I don't currently us a lot of flourishes, apart from those which form part of an effect. I am therefore doubtful that fanning powder would be useful for me. Thought I would check though, just in case.

PD,

As already stated, the best way to extend the life of your cards is to use clean hands. Also, cards with a non-flat surface like Bikes or Waddington's last better. I prefer Waddington's over Bikes but everyone is different.

When I get into the magic mood in the pub I perform one or two tricks that don't require a deck, when I want to go into using the deck I excuse myself for a leak and go into the loo to wash my hands.

Fanning powder is mostly Zinc Stearate as mentioned above. Its also in Talc and this does help to extend the life of a deck to some extent, although it does depend on what you want to do. It doesn't make the cards slippy again like when they were new although it does help to some extent to remove the excessive stickness caused by spectators with dirty hands.

If you want to get a deck slippy again you need to wash it, I don't mean in the bath. A wipe over each face of the card with a damp cloth and then a towel will improve a deck far more than using fanning powder.

God knows what you do to get the edges of a card soiled

Fanning powder doesn't make them slippy again, in fact, the opposite. It creates an element of friction between the cards which is necessary for fanning. If you do the spin off the top of the deck as I do, you need them slippery and that requires clean cards and clean hands.

The worst thing for spoiling cards is giving them to spectators I don't do it unless I have to, and then I usually regret it.

If I'm sat in front of the telly practicing card moves I wash my hands every half an hour or so, bout the same time I get up for another beer

Never play with your cards, in practice or in public, with sticky or dirty hands. They are the tools of your trade and deserve respect.